The present invention relates generally to a safety mat monitoring system. In particular, the present invention relates to a safety mat monitoring system which has individual mat indicators on each mat.
In order to protect personnel from coming into contact with dangerous equipment, safety mat systems are installed in danger zones around pieces of equipment. Each safety mat system consists of a controller and one or more mat switches that are placed on the floor around the equipment to sense the presence of a person. The controller monitors the mat switch and is designed to send a stop signal to the dangerous equipment should a person step on a mat switch installed in the danger zone.
It is standard practice for safety mat systems to register a stop/fault condition on the controller box with a single signal device (typically an LED). If a fault condition is registered on the controller, the technical person responsible for the system is notified. The technician then manually troubleshoots the system to isolate the activated mat switch. This inspection is time consuming and costly.
Recent improvements now allow controllers to display the mat switch number corresponding to an active mat switch. Even with this information, the technician still has to locate the layout drawings and identify which mat switch is being identified by the indicator. The technician then troubleshoots and verifies that the mat switch shown on the drawing was truly the mat switch indicated on the controller display.
There is a need for a safety mat system that provides a more efficient method of locating and troubleshooting an active mat. It would also be beneficial to minimize the possibility of misidentifying an active mat.